I haven’t already noticed, I have a particular fondness for slang. Though the phrase “23 Skidoo” was popularized in the 1890s, it is indelibly associated with the strong draft of wind that whistles around the corner of the Flatiron Building (or Fuller Building) at 23rd Street. Meaning to scram, to get away, to hightail it …
Tag: slang
Crib, Mouth-Piece, & Swag; or How to Speak Like a Gilded Age Criminal
I watch a lot of old movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I’ve seen my fair share of 1930s gangster flicks (George Raft is my favorite!). Films like The Public Enemy, Scarface, and Little Caesar are filled with slang that is now either obsolete or considered old-fashioned, but I was pretty surprised to …
Some Edwardian Slang
As per Violet Asquith’s (dau. of H. H. Asquith, PM 1908-16; m. Sir Maurice Bonham Carter in 1915) Diaries and Letters, 1904-1914 and Lady Cynthia Asquith’s (nee Charteris; dau. of 11th Earl and Countess of Wemyss [members of The Souls]; m. Herbert “Beb” Asquith, Violet’s older brother in 1910) Diaries, 1915-1918: Boil: To put off, …